Police name woman who died after North East stabbing

Jodie Wilkinson, 27, and a 25-year-old man were walking in Stanhope Street in the Arthurs Hill area of Newcastle shortly before 3.50pm yesterday when they became involved in an altercation with a group of men.

The pair were attacked by the group and suffered stab wounds. The group of men then fled to a nearby address in the Queens Court area.

Paramedics attended and the pair were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The man received treatment and was later discharged from hospital but Miss Wilkinson died as a result of her injuries. Officers attended an address in Queens Court, Newcastle, and two men aged 25 and one aged 22 were arrested. They remain in custody. Officers believe up to ten or eleven men may have been in the group involved in the attack and that they all fled the scene after the stabbing. The weapon that was used during the offence has not been located and officers are carrying out enquiries to find it. A small section of the road is still closed to the public. Central Area Command Chief Superintendent David Felton said: "Firstly, our thoughts are with the friends and family of Jodie Wilkinson at this tragic time. I want to reassure them that we are doing all we can to find and arrest those responsible for her death and make sure they get the justice they deserve

"We believe that this has been an altercation between a group of people who may have been known to each other and not a random attack. Although the motive behind the attack is still being investigated, we believe it potentially could have been some kind of dispute and I want to reassure the community that we do not believe there is any risk to the general public.

"That said, we will have extra officers in the area today and over the coming days to reassure people and provide a visible policing presence in the area. Please speak to them if you have any concerns or want to pass any information on. "The attack happened Stanhope Street and we know it was fairly busy at the time. It was 3:50pm and schools had not long finished and people were walking, driving and cycling in the area.

"There will be lots of people who were there or who were passing through and who might have seen something. We really need these people, or anybody who thinks they can help us, to speak to us straight away. Any tiny piece of information could be key so please don't hesitate in contacting us. "The incident itself would have looked like a group of people fighting, like a altercation of some kind, and there would have been shouting and fighting. People would have then seen group then flee the scene, we believe, in the direction of Queens Court. If anyone saw anything suspicious in the area then please come forward and speak to officers or ring us on 101. "We've had the area where the incident took place cordoned off and I want to thank the local residents of Stanhope Street for working with us during what is an extremely difficult investigation. We are trying to keep disruption to the local community as minimal as possible however this is a murder investigation and we are doing all we can to identify and arrest those responsible. "We really need the public's help and in particular the help from the local community. If you don't want to speak to police then that's fine, please use Crimestoppers because it is completely anonymous. Information can be passed to them on their number without giving your name or any details and there is a reward for helping us. "Anyone who knew Jodie or who has any information at all then please do the right thing and speak to us, help us bring those responsible for her death into custody."Jodie's sister Amy released a statement in which she said: "Jodie was a devoted aunty and loving sister. She would do anything for anyone and we've got no idea why someone would take her life.

"All we ask is at this stage anyone with any information, no matter how small, to please come forward and assist the police."Anyone can ring 101 to pass information to police direct, quoting reference number 702 17/10/16. The independent charity Crimestoppers are offering up to £1000 cash reward for information that leads to the arrest and charge of those responsible for Jodie's death. This can be done completely anonymously and all calls to Crimestoppers on 08000 555 111 are completely anonymous and you do not have to give any of your information. The charity is separate from the police and only the information that is given is passed to police and none of the details of the person who rang it in.